Mare Serenitatis
by Rinikittybabe
Summary: Before Queen Serenity was crowned, she was a young princess living on the moon with her own guardians. Her coronation is a year away and it will be a year of trials as the peace treaty with the Earth crumbles and her cousin Nehellenia seeks the throne.
1. Prologue

"Maboroshi no Ginzuishou... Maboroshi no Ginzuishou..." The voice was deep and throaty, frightening, but somehow deeply hypnotic.

The raven haired woman sat up in her bed, pulling her sheets to her chest. The window was open and a breeze drifted into the bedchamber and ruffled the gauzy white curtains of her four post bed, letting moonlight fall upon the bed's occupant. Her blue eyes, normally the same clear color as the planet which she ruled, were glazed over with sleep so that she did not notice the shadow hidden amongst all the others in the room which slowly crept toward her.

"How is it that this planet has no crystal of its own? Why is it that even though the moon must orbit the Earth, that small pearl is the one with greater power?" The shadow was right beside her, reaching to wrap its insubstantial hands around her brain.

"Why...?" The young woman questioned in a voice that did not seem to belong to her.

"The Earth does not even have a sailor senshi like the lesser planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter..." She was being covered by shadow now, not moonlight. Soon it would own her completely. "Why is that?"

Her lips once again formed the question. It was something she had thought of before. Why should the planet she ruled have neither crystal nor senshi when all the others had one or the other? Her cheeks flushed crimson and her delicate lips formed a scowl. "I should be the one to hold the power..."

"There is a way," the shadow told her.

"How!"

"Will you help me steal the Moroboshi no Ginzuishou? Will you let me help you make the Silver Crystal your own?"

Normally she would have been suspicious of such an offer, but the young queen of Earth had been caught off guard and she was now completely under the shadow's control. She parted her lips in an ugly grin, "Yes."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Ooooo~ So scary! I bet some of you can hazard a guess as to just who that shadow is, huh?

General Info: Mare Serenitatis is a fanfic about Queen Serenity (Princess Serenity/Usagi's mother during the Silver Millenium) when she was still a young girl. Yes, back when Queen Serenity was still Princess Serenity and the Silver Millenium did not yet exist. This is a story of the 17-year-old princess of the Moon and her four senshi, Aiko, Princess of Venus (the current Sailor Venus), Acacia Thrush (the current Sailor Jupiter), Prudence Chiemi Kasei (the current Sailor Mars), and Liana Liara la Mercury, or Riri (the current Sailor Mercury.) Though this story I seek to entertain, as well as explain some of the things left out of the manga, like why things were so bad between the Earth and the Moon during the Silver Millenium and what the relationship between Queen Serenity and Nehellenia was. I hope you enjoy the story and that you will come to like some of the original characters found within and start to care about their fates.

Credit: Mare Serenitatis is based on a now dead RPG of the same name. The RP was started by a girl named Mikomi and the original concept belongs to her. Queen Serenity, Nehellenia, and the Sailor Moon universe, of course, belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Acacia Thrush belongs to my good friend Chmia, who was in the original RP with me and nice enough to allow me to put her into my fanfiction. :3 All the other characters belong to me.


	2. Chapter 1: Runaways

The girl walked through the golden-grained fields with a look of pure delight on her face. She was a fair maid of seventeen and today she was just Serenity, not Princess Serenity as she normally was. Today she was just an ordinary girl in an ordinary blue cotton dress walking barefoot through a meadow, just for the pleasure of feeling dirt between her toes. It was something any girl might do and for the young monarch this made it a wonderfully novel experience. It was so nice to forget all about her endless lessons in manners and history and grammar and geography. On a day like this it was easy to forget how her parents had died in one of earth's attacks on the moon when she was only ten and she had been left in her Aunt Alicia and Uncle Florin's care. They also became the satellite's regents until she reached her majority. That was a year off now and some days that seemed so close that it frightened her. Other days the privileges and responsibilities of the job seemed a lifetime away. She was seventeen after all and she didn't want to be watched (and ruled) over her entire life. So some days, like today, she would sneak away from her guardians to have a little fun. It wasn't as if she meant to worry her guardians or get them in trouble. She loved them far too much for that and considered them her best friends. The four girls charged to protect her were sailor senshi about her own age and the five had a very close relationship, but sometimes she just longed to be alone and free to make her own decisions.

_And freedom is so very sweet_, she thought to herself as she sat down under a lone tree's shady canopy. She could feel relaxation all over her body, from her pale, wriggling toes to the top of her head which was covered in thin, wispy, silvery-white hair done up in her traditional "odango and tails" style. Her full pink lips curled into a smile and her milky eyes, which some said looked like they should belong to someone who was blind and others compared to crystal or a glass bead, closed as she listened to the sounds around her and enjoyed the afternoon breeze.

"Run away again, have you?" Serenity opened her eyes, a startled expression on her face. Before her stood Acacia Thrush, who was counted among both her best friends and the senshi who protected her. Acacia looked down at her with a grin and mischief sparkled in her icy blue eyes. Running away from lessons was a stunt that the young princess frequently pulled.

Serenity smiled sheepishly back at her. "You won't tell, will you?"

The other girl's grin broadened. "I didn't see nothin'. But you might want to go back anyway, Riri's pretty worried about you."

"Riri's back!" Serenity brightened at the prospect. Along with Acacia and her two other senshi, Aiko and Prudence Chiemi, Princess Liana Liara La Mercury, better known as Riri, was one of her best friends. She was also the senshi at the Palace the least as she went home to visit her parents on Mercury for one week every month. It was the reason for these visits that sobered Serenity up. Riri's father was very sick; he had been for the last five years. Though he had been given the best medical care in the galaxy he had gotten no better and everyone but Riri had given up hope he ever would. But for all her childlike hope and optimism, Riri was a very smart girl and it was likely she knew the truth if she would ever just admit it. In any case, her trips always took a lot out of her. "How is she?"

Acacia shrugged. "She acts cheerful enough, but I think Riri would still be cheerful if the floor fell out from under her." Having grown up in the forests of Jupiter with only her widower father, who treated her like the son he had always wanted, for company, Acacia wasn't very adept at reading other's feelings, but even she had noticed that Riri never seemed to cry over anything more important than a ripped dress or skinned knee. The only hint she ever gave to being upset was when she talked in third person, perhaps unconsciously trying to recall her younger days when she had not known sorrow of any kind.

"I should go see how she is." To some degree, Serenity could understand the pain Riri felt from having lost her parents, but they had at least died quickly. She could not even imagine how painful it must be to endure a slow, agonizing death, hoping against all hope that it would not come to that, even when you knew it would and how _guilty_you must feel in that knowledge! In her opinion, Riri was incredibly strong, maybe even the strongest person she knew.

Acacia offered a hand to help Serenity up and the two walked silently back to the Palace together, each lost in her own thoughts. In many ways, Acacia was just as much of an orphan as Serenity was. Her mother had died giving birth to her and when she was thirteen her father had left to take a job at the Jupiter mines. She hadn't heard from him in seven years and for all she knew, he was dead. It was not a tragedy to her or even something to dwell on, it was just a fact. Acacia's relationship with him had been more teacher/student than father/daughter and there was not much reason for her to miss him. He had been, in many ways, a cruel, even abusive, teacher and he had not hesitated to beat her if it meant she would grow stronger. Acacia was grateful to him for teaching her how to fight, but beyond that she felt nothing. There had been no love between them. She had not even known love until she had wandered from the Jupiter forests to the city where she would meet the Queen, then Princess, of that green planet who took her in and gave Acacia her first real home. Though the Queen already had two full grown sons, she had no daughter and it would be Acacia who would take her place as Sailor Jupiter when she retired two years later. What a sight it had been to see the fifteen-year-old in the Lunar Palace breaking every single social rule they had in place! It had taken almost a year, but friendly, good-natured Riri had finally broken through the older girl's shell and become good friends with her and the other girls were quick to follow. Riri's childish persistence was extremely endearing and even now Acacia felt an older-sister-like sense of protectiveness towards the seventeen-year-old that ached to be able to do something to ease her pain, even if she didn't completely understand it. She often felt the same way about Serenity and the painfully shy eighteen-year-old Chiemi whose uncanny ability to read other's emotions had made her wise beyond her years. She even felt this way about Aiko, who was one year older than her, impossibly silly, and a constant trial to Acacia's practical soul.

It was Aiko the two first met as they walked into the palace courtyard. "So there you two are! Where had she run off to this time, the gardens? Some far off path?" Her platinum blond hair glittered in the sunlight as she tossed her head back in laughter.

"The meadow, actually," Acacia grinned back as Serenity looked between the two oldest senshi, a distraught look on her face.

"I really didn't mean to worry anyone, but it is _such_a beautiful day, did you really expect me not to go out and enjoy it?" She protested.

"Oh, I expected about as much," Aiko said casually, mischief sparkling in her golden eyes. "But you really should have told someone so we wouldn't worry."

"If I had told you would you really have let me go alone," Serenity countered _oh-so-innocently_.

"Of course not!" Acacia bristled. "What type of guardians would be be then?" This remark was met with a sigh from Serenity and a springing up of laughter from Aiko. She really did have the most beautiful laugh. There was something light and airy and mysterious about it that reminded you of a bubbling brook or sunshine personified.

"In any case," Aiko added. "We should find Chiemi and Riri and let them know you're alright, that poor girl has enough to worry about without adding runaway princesses to the list given that her father is no better and there are rumors of rio...t..s..." Her words faded as Riri entered the courtyard to join them with the redheaded Chiemi at her heels, her lips pursed and giving the three a meaningful look.

Riri was smiling as usual as she ran up to them, the hem of her cobalt dress gathered in her hands to keep herself from tripping and her chestnut brown pigtails tied up with pale yellow ribbons bouncing with her steps. "Serenity shouldn't run away like that! Riri was worried," she scolded, wagging a finger at her and looking very much like a young girl who was trying to be serious and failing miserably. But her eyes just weren't in it and there was no sense of fun in her sapphire blue orbs to match the smile on her lips. Others might be fooled, but to those who knew her as well as her friends did, it was painfully obvious that she was upset.

"I'm sorry Riri," Serenity said with a smile to match on her own lips, she didn't dare let Riri know she had guessed there was something wrong. She knew from experience that this only made the girl draw further behind her cheerful mask. There was nothing Riri hated so much as to think she had made her friends upset. "Next time I want to go on a walk I'll take you with me, how does that sound?"

Riri nodded. "Riri will look forward to it! Oh! Riri missed you so much while she was gone!" She gave all the girls a hug in turn, first Serenity, then Acacia, Aiko, and Chiemi. "It's good to be back!"

Chiemi hugged her young friend back, bending down to give her a kiss on the cheek, glad to see that some genuine joy seemed to be returning to her. The Mars princess had been born with an odd talent which seemed at some times like a wonderful gift and at others a curse. She could feel the emotions of those around her. Sometimes they were so strong she could almost hear the thoughts that went along with them. In her youth the thoughts and feelings of all she came close to had overwhelmed her, making her feel sick or as though she was going to go insane. Now that she was older and had learned to filter the raw emotions better things were easier for her, but large crowds could still make her incredibly nervous and the all too common first impression from strangers that she looked nothing at all like her beautiful mother had made her extremely self-conscious. She had never felt these judgmental feelings from Princess Serenity or any of her fellow senshi (except perhaps for a split second from the somewhat shallow Aiko, whose observation held no malice behind it), but sometimes she could feel a wave of heartbreak from Riri that almost threatened to topple her over. In some ways, Chiemi wasn't sure whether it would be better or worse for Riri if she were to stop the visits to Mercury every other week. It was extremely hard for her to see her father of course, but in some ways she almost seemed to come back from these trips refreshed. Chiemi had a very distinct suspicion that this was because she got to see her best friend and the current regent of Mercury, Edwin (Riri's poor mother had been driven almost mad with grief having to watch her beloved husband waste away and two years after the illness, when Riri had turned fourteen, it had been decided that she had become much too delicate to rule. As Riri had been too young to rule at the time, one of the family's most trusted vassals, the eighteen-year-old Edwin Wittington had been made the regent until she came of age.) Though nothing had ever been said, Chiemi felt sure that Riri had cried in front of him before, something she had not done once for any of her four best girlfriends. For Edwin's part, it was clear that he adored Riri, even if you didn't have Chiemi's powers of perception and only Riri herself seemed oblivious to the fact. This led to a great many rumors about the two, ranging from them being madly in love and secretly engaged to Edwin having accepted the job as regent so that he could court her or, if you were more cynical, that he wished to court her just so he _could_ continue ruling. Whatever the truth was, Chiemi was certain that having at least one person who Riri felt comfortable pouring her heart out to did her a world of good. "I missed you too, dear. It's good to _have_you back."

The other girls all smiled at that. Despite being the younger sister of three very protective older brothers, it was hard to deny that Chiemi could be a very motherly little creature at times.

When Riri moved moved away from Chiemi, some of the life had returned to her eyes. "Guess who I saw in the palace when I was looking for Serenity."

The others looked at her with interest. "Who?" Chiemi said, voicing the question on all of their minds.

"Serenity's boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Serenity shot back, her cheeks a bright crimson. Yet for all her protest it might be prudent to note that she needed no clarification as to who Riri meant, nor did any of the other girls

"Oh?" Aiko questioned. "Then why is it that last time he was here I heard you call him 'sweetie pie muffincakes' right after he called you his 'honey-glazed sugarbun' and right before he said you were a 'chocolate-covered cherry truffle?'"

"Muffincakes!" Acacia burst out laughing as Serenity covered her hot face with her hands in mortification and even Chiemi was unable to suppress a giggle.

* * *

><p>The girls met together again later that day, after Serenity had finished her rather neglected lessons and Riri had finished unpacking, to discuss the upcoming ball that was to be held at the palace soon to celebrate Aiko's birthday. She was turning twenty-one next week and as she was a Venusian princess this meant lots of rich food, pretty dresses, and, of course, plenty of eligible, good looking young men to dance and flirt with. All the girls were excited about it for one reason or another, even shy Chiemi and boyish Acacia. Though Chiemi dreaded the crowds, a party of this size meant that her family was coming for an extended visit, something she was greatly looking forward to as her parents and three older brothers were very important to her, especially her brother Luke who was only five years older than she and greatly idolized by his younger sister. Her eldest brother, Alexander, would also be bringing his wife Stephaine, better known by her nickname Stephannie, and their 16-year-old daughter Annalise, who was usually called Annalie. Being only two years apart, the girls had often played together as children and were still close even now.<p>

For her part, Acacia was looking forward to wearing a pretty party dress, though she wouldn't have admitted this for the world. Until she was thirteen, Acacia had been raised as a boy and in some ways she still felt it was a little shameful for her to be wearing a dress. And yet, she did so admire all the lace and frills of that girliest of garments, even if she despised its girliness and impracticality at the same time.

The other girls' reasons for the eager anticipation they viewed the event with were somewhat simpler. They were all social butterflies and loved balls. Yet they all had something beyond this that filled them with excitement. Serenity was looking forward to seeing—and dancing with—her beau and Aiko was not only eager to be the center of attention, but to see her parents and her younger twin sisters, Heather and Flora, who were seven-going-on-eight. But of the five it might have been Riri who most looked forward to the party's date, for both Edwin and her mother, who rarely ever left her husband's side as of late, would be coming and this was enough to make it a momentous occasion in her mind.

For awhile the girls discussed their dresses, Serenity would be wearing a beautiful flowy strapless piece in silver with hints of blue (honoring the Mercury Queen.) It had also been decorated with gold embroidery to recognize the Venusian Princess whose birthday they celebrated. Riri's dress was a deep blue with pale yellow accents that had been made on Mercury and Aiko would be draped in gold. Neither Chiemi or Acacia had settled on something, much to the horror of the other three.

"Oh! You want to come to my party dressed in rags! Don't either one of you love me!" Aiko wailed.

"It isn't half so bad as that," Chiemi patiently chided. "Annalie said she would bring something for me to wear. Besides, I hardly think anyone will be paying attention to what we are wearing when you walk into the room, your eyes sparkling the same color as your dress and steal the hearts of all the young gentlemen at the ball, your 'Muffincakes' excluded, of course, Serenity," she added, seeing the look on her other friend's face.

"Well of course," Aiko responded, flattery having gone a long way to ease her hurts, "but still, I think you might at least give it some thought. As for you," she waved a hand dismissively in Acacia's direction "if it were not for us you would be an entirely lost cause, but I will find something to suit you yet."

The laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door and a boyish voice, "I say, cousin! May I come in?"

"Come in William!" Serenity said between giggles.

The young man who waltzed in the room was tall (at least compared to the girls) with warm chocolate hued eyes, a lithe build, and a mass of thick black curls. At twenty years old, William Kurai was Serenity's cousin on her mother's side, his father Florin had been her younger brother. About twenty-one years ago,Serenity's Uncle Florin had married her Aunt Alicia. Together they had two children. William had been their first and three years later they had been blessed with a baby girl, Nehellenia. For the first half of their lives, William, Nehellenia, and their parents had lived in a large mansion (or small palace, depending on how you saw it) located outside of the palace grounds, but their visits had been so often that the cousins had already felt close by the time that they moved into the palace after the death of Serenity's parents.

William was a nice boy, completely harmless as Chiemi put it, and he adored his baby cousin, loving to playfully tease her. "You had us worried this afternoon," he said, ruffling her hair.

Serenity giggled. "You don't have to worry Will, the girls have already scolded me."

"Oh really?" He shot a knowing look at Aiko who gave him her best 'who, me?' face in return.

Sometimes Serenity could just swear their brains worked on the same wavelength. They certainly functioned on the same maturity level. Of her two cousins, Nehellenia had always been the mature one. Even when she was little she had never played with with dolls, finding all the entertainment she needed in the mirror or in a good book. She was polite and charming, rarely going outside in order to protect her fair collection. The only fault anyone might have been able to find in her was that she was perhaps a little boring. She was intelligent enough to hold an interesting conversation, but she always seemed a little bored by the company of others, as if she felt them beneath her, and it rubbed off on those she spoke to. At parties and other public events she was a completely different creature, vibrant, flirtatious, and witty. Acacia and Chiemi had never really liked her, but they all loved William. (Well, Acacia didn't really like anyone but the girls, but she didn't _dislike_Will.)

"Tell me that you've picked out something to wear for my party." Aiko fluttered her eyelashes at William.

"Nehellenia and Mother are picking out something for me. I doubt you'd want me to pick something out for myself."

"So you have no idea what you're going to wear?"

"Nope."

Aiko made a distressed sound. "I give up! You're all hopeless!" She didn't think it was very funny when they all started to laugh.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Ho-hum. First chapters are often pretty boring, but hopefully I've made mine at least a little bit interesting. I tried to give you some idea of the different girl's personalities, so tell me what you think of them so far. Do you love them? Do you hate them? Does Aiko drive you as nuts as she drives Acacia? I've also introduced most of the important characters by now, or at least mentioned them. Look forward to getting to know more about them in the future chapters! And remember, all comments are very much appreciated! 3

General Info: Mare Serenitatis is a fanfic about Queen Serenity (Princess Serenity/Usagi's mother during the Silver Millenium) when she was still a young girl. Yes, back when Queen Serenity was still Princess Serenity and the Silver Millenium did not yet exist. This is a story of the 17-year-old princess of the Moon and her four senshi, Aiko, Princess of Venus (the current Sailor Venus), Acacia Thrush (the current Sailor Jupiter), Prudence Chiemi Kasei (the current Sailor Mars), and Liana Liara la Mercury, or Riri (the current Sailor Mercury.) Though this story I seek to entertain, as well as explain some of the things left out of the manga, like why things were so bad between the Earth and the Moon during the Silver Millenium and what the relationship between Queen Serenity and Nehellenia was. I hope you enjoy the story and that you will come to like some of the original characters found within and start to care about their fates.

Credit: Mare Serenitatis is based on a now dead RPG of the same name. The RP was started by a girl named Mikomi and the original concept belongs to her. Queen Serenity, Nehellenia, and the Sailor Moon universe, of course, belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Acacia Thrush belongs to my good friend Chmia, who was in the original RP with me and nice enough to allow me to put her into my fanfiction. :3 All the other characters belong to me.


	3. Chapter 2: The Venuisan Ball

The following week passed in a flurry of activity as preparations were made for the party. First Acacia had to be fitted for a dress, a process which caused everyone headaches. Aiko even shed a few tears when Acacia picked a terribly practical and completely unflattering cut for her gown. It took quite some time, and more than a bit of colorful language on Acacia's part, but they finally picked a comfortable, yet tasteful design that satisfied them both.

Everyday more guests seemed to arrive. With the arrival of Chiemi's family the palace almost started to seem too small, for all of their personalities were much harder to ignore than the timid senshi of the red planet. Fukuyo Kasei was Chiemi's maternal grandmother and the undeniable head of the household despite her shrinking height (which you didn't mention if you knew what was good for you.) She was a peppery and critical lady who had once been both Sailor Mars and queen of her planet. Even at her advanced age, she was the very picture of health and just as active as she had been when she was sixteen. Her only daughter, Kanae, was a beautiful socialite with hair as dark as the raven's wing and striking crimson eyes. It had surprised everyone when she had married a simple military man from Jupiter. James had lost his mother at a young age and had grown up with just his father and brothers. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, he was a true gentleman toward women and not at all the type Kanae usually went for. However, the marriage was happy and together the couple had four children.

The first of these had been Alexander. Proud holder of the Kasei name (which only went to current and former senshi and rulers of the red planet and their direct heirs), he would rule the planet when the current king and queen stepped down. He could have been a male version of his mother with his jet black hair, red eyes, and regal demeanor. He also had his father's bravery and cool head under pressure. In many ways he was the best mix of both his parents, though his perpetual state of regal calm sometimes made him appear cold and he could be hard to get close to. At thirty-seven, he was eighteen years older than Chiemi. At nineteen he had married his childhood sweetheart, Stephannie, and a year later their daughter Annalie had been born. Stephannie was beautiful and sweet, with a soft voice and demeanor that drew people to her. Annalie had her mother's beauty and her father's brains, a passion for the planet she would someday rule, and lady-like manners. Being so near in age, Chiemi and Annalie had practically grown up together and were very close.

Kanae and James' second son was Amare Clovering. As he would not be ruling Mars someday, he had taken his father's original family name instead of Kasei. Amare was very good looking, with black hair and James' green eyes. He was also a terrible flirt who had a habit of making the ladies sigh. He left a string of broken hearts behind him, but he was surprisingly kind to and protective of his niece and baby sister, even if he enjoyed teasing them (Chiemi's name meant 'blessed with wisdom and beauty', but Amare always jokingly called her Chie, or 'blessed with wisdom.' Her other brothers had given her the slightly kinder, but equally affectionate nickname Prudie.)

Luke Latif had been born next and both his name and Prudence Chiemi's had been a source of contention between their parents. James had wanted to name their youngest son Luke, after his grandfather, but Kanae was deeply superstitious about the meaning of names deciding the traits of a child and Luke was a name that had its origin in a place. A compromise had been struck when Kanae picked the child's middle name, Latif, meaning kind. Five years later, a similar battle was waged over Chiemi. Having grown up with all boys, James had an idea how they thought and though he wasn't sure he believed in his wife's theory on baby naming, he wanted to give her a name that might protect her from the carnal desires of men around her just in case. _His_first choice of a name had been Chastity, but his wife had quickly shot that down. After that he stubbornly clung to his second choice of Prudence and would not change his mind on the matter. Finally, Kanae was forced to settle for choosing her daughter's middle name, but she never called her anything but Chiemi, which suited James just fine as he only ever called her Prudence. Luke, on the other hand, was never called anything but Luke, even by his mother. He had his father's red hair and thoughtful green eyes and he was the most important person in the world to his little sister. Her unusual powers had caused her much distress as a child, but Luck had always beside her throughout these difficult times, doing his best to help her. He had been her playmate when she had trouble making friends and she had always felt she could tell him anything.

So when Chiemi's family visited, Annalie and Luke were often added to their group of five and the rest of her family members could be counted on to drop by from time-to-time to talk with her, ask her opinion on things, muse her hair, or, in Amare's case, to flirt with the girls. Chiemi loved to see her family, and Serenity, Aiko, and Riri all thrived in the environment, but Acacia would get surly around so many strangers. Other than Serenity and her senshi, Acacia didn't really have any friends and she got jealous when others monopolized their attention. She knew how important Chiemi's family was to her (though she didn't really understand it), so she tried to keep her feelings in check, but it was impossible not to notice. Whenever she got like this, the other girls tried to spend more time with her, but this got harder and harder to do as more guests arrived. Finally, Aiko came up with a solution by offering Acacia a distraction. "How about we hold a tournament several days before my party?"

Acacia looked up from the book she had been reading. Normally she didn't have much patience for such things, but she loved history, especially the kind that involved battles. For her birthday that March Riri had bought her a set of books with just this sort of information and beautiful full color fold-out maps that showed troop movements. Acacia liked to read it on rainy days when she couldn't go outside. Currently she was studying the scrimmages that had taken place on the early days of the moon, before a queen had stepped up to unite the satellite. "What type of tournament," she asked, clearly interested.

"What type of tournament?" Aiko mimicked. "Fighting of course, you silly girl! I figured since so many people are gathering, we might have an informal test of strength. It might keep the boys out of trouble, some of them are getting restless you know... And a few of the girls too," she teased.

Acacia ignored the teasing, she was much too focused on Aiko's idea. Already the gears in her head were turning with thoughts on how to execute the plan. "If the weather is good-"

"Which of course it will be, given that it is almost my birthday," Aiko interrupted.

"We could have it in the training yard," Acacia continued, ignoring her friend, "otherwise we'll have it in the indoor arena. We will have two categories, of course, one for weapons and the other for hand-to-hand combat."

"You had better have some safety precautions in place. I'd like to have some men to dance with at my ball."

"We'll let you have the victor!" Riri suggested.

"Oh, I do hope it is Prince Kahl of Neptune," Aiko sighed, naming her current crush.

"I doubt it," Acacia said practically. "He's a real pansy. He just likes to prance around with a sword because he thinks it makes him look pretty."

Serenity giggled and Aiko gave her best pout, even though she personally agreed with Acacia. But, well, it was working, wasn't it?

Annalie, who had joined the girls, was able to offer more practical advice. "Armor should be required in the weapons section; if the combatant does not have any, it will be provided for them out of the armory. Battle will be waged until one party surrenders or is in the position to make a 'death blow', though obviously making a blow like this will not actually be allowed. The winner will progress to the next round until the final victor is decided. Would these rules be acceptable?" She sat with her hands in her lat, violet eyes both calm and direct, and a smile upon her dainty lips. Much like her father and the two elder Kasei women, she exuded an air of both confidence and regality. She was a Mars ruler down to her very bones in ways that shy Chiemi never would be, but it was hard to dislike either cousin, for both were kind and put others before themselves.

Acacia nodded; she was wary by nature and didn't know Annalie well enough to be completely comfortable around her, but Chiemi loved her and anyway, her ideas were good ones. "Sounds fair. I'll go talk to the guards about the preparations."

* * *

><p>William Kurai was athletic, good-looking, and quite clearly the apple of his mother's eye. The warm feelings were mutual. Alicia had given her son the childhood she herself had never had, loving him unconditionally and giving him all his boyish heart desired. He was the type of person who thrived more on love than things and this made him impossible to spoil. Indeed, it seemed the more love he was given, the more lovable he became. So it came as no surprise to anyone that he was adored by all those around him and he adored them in return. But still, the relationship he had with his mother was special, anyone could see that. They would often have chats, and it was this habit of theirs that saw Will down to hall to his mother's boudoir. He found her at her vanity, brushing out her long black tresses. As soon as she had seen her son's reflection in the mirror before her, the Lady Alicia set down the brush and turned to face him, a smile decorating her once beautiful features. "William dear, come sit," she invited, patting a chair next to her.<p>

He happily did so, offering her a smile of his own as he formed his question, "You said you wanted to see me, Mother?"

"Yes, I did. I wanted to ask you what you think of your cousin Serenity."

"Serenity and I have always gotten along wonderfully. Why do you ask?"

"She has gotten to be very beautiful as of late, hasn't she?" Alicia said as if to herself rather than her son, "do you have any other girl you fancy?"

"No, not particularly," he said thoughtfully, slowly starting to comprehend the direction the conversation was going in.

"It would make your father and I very happy if you would attend to your cousin."

"Alright Mother, I think I could love her if I tried, she is a sweet girl." He moved over to her side and put a hand lovingly on her shoulder. "I will try, for your sake."

Alicia smiled and caressed his cheek, "you are such a good boy, William."

* * *

><p>After that, the day of the tournament came with surprising rapidity. Acacia spent most of her time practicing or talking about it, so that by the time the day had arrived, the other girls had gotten to be quite excited as well. "Oh, I do hope Prince Kahl will compete..." Aiko said dreamily as she dressed for the event. <em>She<em>wouldn't be competing of course, but she had to look her best to cheer the boys—oh, and Acacia—on.

Annalie looked at the list of competitors she held, "Yes, he will be competing in the weapons tourney; his first opponent is Lord Cedric of Uranus."

"Cedric will win," Acacia said absently as she changed into her gi. Technically she wouldn't be competing until tomorrow, but as the host of the event, she would be the one to open it.

Aiko pouted, "But Kahl will be wearing my banner!" She flourished a gold ribbon.

"Doesn't matter," said Acacia, "Cedric's the better swordsman."

The other girl flounced and sulked, hotly vowing not to speak to Acacia again, a vow which lasted all of five minutes. Chatting freely, she joined the other five on their trek to the training yard and proudly tied her banner on the Prince's right arm, only slightly upset that he already had his twin sister Coral's banner tied there.

"It will be an hour to wear it, my lady. With the banners of two such lovely ladies I can't help but triumph," he said prettily, manfully ignoring the unbelieving snort Acacia gave in response to his speech.

"Good luck," Acacia said as she held out a rough hand for him to shake, "you're going to need it."

Prince Kahl shook her hand, admittedly somewhat reluctantly after all of her harsh words, but he was a prince and he knew his manners if not his sword fighting.

Despite all of Aiko's cheering, Kahl lost in his first match, leaving the Venus senshi depressed until one handsome combatant by the name of Roseric of Venus blew her a kiss and won his first match, after which Kahl was promptly forgotten. After all, Roseric didn't have a twin sister to vie for his attention. The Venusian swordsman later lost in the final round, to Acacia's predicted winner, Lord Cedric, but this didn't stop Aiko from giving her first dance at her party to the runner-up from Venus.

The hand-to-hand combat portion of the tournament came the next day. Acacia was almost unbearable in her excitement as she pranced into each of the girl's rooms bright and early and was met, in the case of Aiko, by an assault of pillows. Unfortunately for Aiko, she had unwittingly armed the enemy and each was sent back at her with much better aim than she had shown in her half-asleep state. "It's time you were up anyway," Acacia said, drawing the curtains wide.

Aiko moaned. "I need my beauty sleep!"

"It's a pity that the famous beauty of the Venusian royal family will die with this generation," Acacia sighed, shrugging her shoulders and looking forlorn.

Aiko sat straight up in bed, suddenly wide awake. "What! You take that back!"

"I just figured if you need so much sleep to be beautiful, then you can't be a natural beauty. After all, Chiemi, Riri, Serenity, and Annalie all need much less beauty sleep than you."

Aiko finally noticed that the other girls were all in her room, fully dressed and trying to stifle giggles.

"Five-agianst-one isn't fair," she sulked, but obediently got up and started dressing.

Not much later, all six found themselves in the training yard. Acacia did her warmups white the others chatted and people-watched from the stands. The courtyard was less crowded today than it had been before, for hand-to-hand combat was much less popular than sword play, but it had always been Acacia's preferred form of fighting. Still, there were plenty of good looking men and Aiko and Serenity idly gossiped while Chiemi, Annalie, and Riri held a more substantial conversation about people they knew more about than linage and placement on a sliding scale of hotness.

"Edwin is arriving tomorrow, isn't he?" Chiemi asked slyly.

"Yes, he should be here for the party," Riri smiled happily. "Mama's coming too. I'm so glad. It's been so long since she left Papa's side. It will be good for her to leave the castle."

"Who is taking care of things on Mercury while all of you are away," Annalie asked practically.

"Mercury has a council that helps the monarchy with decision making. They can handle things for a few days."

"It is too bad they can't take care of things longer." Chiemi said. "But I guess it would be awkward to have more than one regent. In any case, you'll be going back to visit in a little less than two weeks."

"Yes," she seemed a little far away for a moment and it was clear she was thinking about her father.

Before anything else could be said, it was announced the tournament was starting. "And representing the planet Jupiter and Mare Serenitatis, the current Sailor Jupiter, Acacia Thrush!"

The five girls all cheered, Aiko, Serenity, and Riri leaping to their feet in excitement while the two Kasei girls retained a slightly more composed appearance, though Chiemi looked flushed and perhaps a little over excited.

"Are you alright, Prudie?" Someone behind her said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Luke!" Chiemi had turned to find that not only Luke, but her whole family, excluding Fukuyo, had come to cheer on the Jupiter senshi. "Yes, it's just that I can feel the excitement of the whole crowd and it gets me excited too."

Alexander chuckled. "Just don't get too excited, Prudie."

"Hello, Mother, Father, Grandfather, Granmama, Uncle Luke, Uncle Amare," Annalie said smiling.

"I wish you wouldn't call me Uncle, Annalie, it makes me feel so _old_," Amare said, winking and blowing Acacia a kiss, which the intended recipient clearly saw as she flipped him off and yelled something that caused some of the more delicate women in the audience to gasp. He laughed. "Well, she's _quite_the feisty one, isn't she?"

"I wouldn't waste my time, Amare," Aiko said just a little cruelly. "She's too much woman for you. Only wants the type of man who would enter this tournament."

"Well, my Lady," he said, grasping her hand up with a kiss. "I am not the type to give up without a fight."

"Oh, I _know_that."

Chiemi sighed. Even she hadn't been able to figure out exactly what the relationship between those two was. Sometimes it seemed like Amare liked Aiko more than all the other girls he flirted with, but at other times it seemed like he saw her as just another pretty face, just another pair of lips to kiss.

"Eyes forward, Amare," James admonished. "The fight is starting. Since you seem so enamored of Miss Thrush, you should be willing to give her your _undivided_attention."

Chiemi stifled a giggle, which elicited a sidelong glance from Aiko, "You really _must_be excited."

Annalie smiled. "Or perhaps our Chiemi is not always quite so demure as she seems." Chiemi blushed and was on the verge of protesting when her niece put an arm around her shoulders. "Hush, watch the match."

The match was already close to finishing and as they turned their attention to it, Acacia flipped the scrawny youth who was her opponent over her shoulder, winning her first match without even breaking a sweat.

"Well," Aiko said, legs and arms crossed, one arm bent artistically to rest a hand to her chin, "I hope no one expects me to dance with Acacia."

This time, Aiko didn't mind it when everyone laughed.

* * *

><p>"<em>That's<em> what you brought for me to wear?" Chiemi looked at the dress, a burgundy evening gown with a full skirt, as if it were a thing possessed, hand to her throat and a blush creeping across her face. "But... It's so _low-cut_..."

"Nonsense," Annalie said dismissively as she prepared her own toilette, "that isn't low cut, _Aiko's_ dress is _low-cut_."

Aiko made a quick face at her and struck a haughty pose. "Just because you don't have my figure, darling, doesn't mean that the dress is low-cut; it just means you couldn't hope to fill it out."

Ever regal, Annalie responded to Aiko's speech with a small smile, "Yes, no one could ever mistake you as being from anywhere other than Venus."

"Really Aiko, you look beautiful; with your hair curled like that you look just like your mother," Riri said.

Aiko beamed. Gold satin hung across her supple breasts, draping over her should in Grecian waves to fall down her back in a half cape. A similar drape of sheer fabric slipped off her shoulder. The bodice of the dress clung to her body until it flared out into a full skirt at her waist. She wore a belt of real pink poses and a matching gold and enamel necklace. With her hair softly curled she really did look a great deal like her mother, the legendary beauty who was said to have drawn suitors from beyond Pluto. "And you," Aiko said kissing the girl on the cheek, "are absolutely adorable, as always, Riri."

Riri giggled, smoothing her cobalt blue gown and doing a little spin to show off the way the skirt flared and the buttercup yellow ribbons and ruffles that provided an abundance of trim. Even her signature pigtails had been made special for the night, tied as they were with double ribbons and decorated with Riri's favorite pale blue daisies. She reached a hand up to pat the flowers. "Aren't they pretty? Edwin sent them to me."

Aiko's mouth turned up in a smirk and she likely would have said something if Chiemi hadn't broken in with a moan, "I can't possibly wear this! What am I supposed to do?" She still sat staring at the dress Annalie had brought for her with a look of horror on her face.

"No man may lay eye on the ivory flesh of Chiemi's virgin neck," Aiko said dramatically, laying a palm to her forehead for effect.

"I think that's why Granmama suggested I bring this dress," Annalie said with an amused half smile. "She was hoping you'd have no choice but to wear this one and, what was it she said? Ah yes, 'give up this silly habit of hers.'"

Chiemi blushed a deep red and riddled with her skirt. She had always been extremely modest, only rarely wearing dresses with short sleeves and never going out with her neck exposed. It was largely the reason why she now went by Chiemi rather than Prudence, since Prudence could easily be shorted to prude by mean spirited boys.

Ever the peacekeeper, Riri was quick to offer a solution. "Why don't you wear a blouse under it? The bodice isn't too tight and the sleeves are long, so it should look fine. You have so many pretty, lacy blouses with high necks. I'm sure you can find something that would work."

Serenity put down her brush, finally having teased her long hair to shine like silk, and clapped her hands in excitement. "I know just the blouse to use! I'll go get it!" She jumped up and threw on her dressing gown, dashing out the door without even styling her hair.

Serenity's absence did nothing to lessen the liveliness of the room. Annalie took a break from her own preparation to help Chiemi find a garnet pendant that matched her dress and a ribbon to string it on and another ribbon (white to match the lacy blouse) for her hair to replace the navy blue headband she normally wore. Having already finished their own preparations, Aiko and Riri pranced up and down the room together in an impromptu waltz. Their giggling romp was broken up by a loud curse from where Acacia sat on the bed trying to dress herself. "Dammit! The button snapped off!"

After that it was hard to get Aiko to stop laughing. Acacia had the buttons turned to face the front. She had the dress on backwards!

* * *

><p>"Aiko! Aiko!"<p>

"Happy birthday, Aiko!" Two identical little girls scrambled through the hall, almost running into the six girls.

"Look at you! Such troublemakers!" Aiko bent to their level and gathered the two girls up into her arms, which sent them into a fit of giggles. "Girls, you remember my little sisters Heather and Flora, don't you?" Though they were honey rather than platinum blonde, they all had the same gold eyes and quick smile and it was easy to tell they were Aiko's sisters. Like their elder sibling, they were Venusian gold dresses in identical designs, and the only way to tell the two apart was that Flora wore her wavy hair in a ponytail and Heather wore hers in pigtails.

"We wanted to see you first-" Flora began.

"-and wish you a happy birthday before anyone else did-" Heather continued.

"-and show off our pretty dresses!" Flora finished, which set both girls giggling again.

Acacia sighed. The eight-year-old twins had a habit of finishing each other's sentences when they were excited and thought the other was talking too slow, which drove her absolutely crazy. Being younger, the two were even sillier than Aiko.

"You look wonderful," Aiko said, kissing each twin on the cheek.

"It must be so nice to have siblings," Riri said with a smile.

Acacia shrugged. She was the only one who was not going to have any family at the ball and that and the fact that she hated dancing and Aiko had laughed at her were making her surly. She was already planning to find a corner and sulk and flower for the rest of the evening. Chiemi gave her a small understanding smile that made it clear she wouldn't be spending the whole night alone. Chiemi hated parties almost as much as she did.

The two hung back as the party entered the ballroom. Aiko, escorted by her beaming sisters, was in the lead and Serenity, Riri, and Annalie followed close behind. Aiko was immediately approached and Acacia grinned at Chiemi, knowing that Aiko would be called upon to dance all night and she was unlikely to refuse one. Aiko was in her element.

"Chiemi." A young man with green eyes and the same red hair as the Mars senshi had approached the two.

"Hello Luke."

"I'm glad I caught you in time," he teased. "I was hoping I could get a dance with my little sister before she holed herself up for the night. I believe Father said he wanted one too."

Chiemi gave Acacia a questioning look to which Acacia shrugged. "Go ahead, it's not like you have to ask me. I don't need a babysitter."

"I don't think anyone would ever say you did." Chiemi offered her hand to her brother. "I would be glad to."

Acacia watched the dancers absently, arms crossed over her chest, and tried to remember why she had been looking forward to this ball in the first place.

"Well, don't you look bored."

Acacia didn't bother turning to see who had spoken to her, she obviously recognized the voice. "I hope you don't plan on asking me to dance, Cedric."

The white-haired young man chuckled. "Oh no, I know better than that. I had some other entertainment in mind."

She turned to look at him. Cedric was definitely handsome. Even the formal clothes he now wore couldn't hide how muscular he was, something she knew without even needing to look. Acacia was quite familiar with Cedric's body by now. "Two hours. Meet me in the palace gardens. We'll see if we can't find a way to pass the time."

Cedric bowed and left and Acacia returned her gaze to the dancers, a hint of a smile dancing across her lips.

* * *

><p>"Mama! I'm so glad to see you!"<p>

Sapphira, former Sailor Mercury and mother to the planet's current senshi, hugged her daughter to her chest. "You look beautiful darling, it's been so long since I've seen you all dressed up like this... Your Papa would be so proud."

Riri gave her mother a small smile. "Thank you, Mama. You'll tell him how I look tonight when you go back, won't you?"

"Yes, of course."

"Hello, Riri. Your mother is right, you look stunning."

"Edwin!" Riri threw herself into her old friend's arms. He was about a foot taller than her with short blue hair and sea green eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses.

"You're wearing the the flowers I sent you. I'm glad."

"Of course, common chicory are my favorite; you know me so well, Edwin," Riri said, detaching herself.

Sapphira smiled at her daughter and the young regent. She liked Edwin a great deal. "You'll have to excuse me, Riri, Edwin, I believe I see Kanae waving me over and it looks like Hellena and Io are with her," she said referring to the current rulers of Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, who had all been senshi charged with guarding Serenity mother together with Sapphira. Like the current senshi, they remained close, even when their duties had been rendered moot by the Queen's death. Tonight was a rare night in which they were once again all together as each had her own duties and for the most part remained on her planet unless there was a big event like this one. Since Sapphira hadn't gone to an event like this in quite some time, their was an even larger gap between such meetings than there usually was.

And so it was that four old friends were reacquainted and two old friends were left alone together. "Would you like to dance, Riri?" Edwin said, holding a hand out to her.

"Yes, I'd love to." As she took his hand and they began the waltz, Riri thought how wonderful it was to have a friend you were completely comfortable with. How many times had she practiced these same steps with him or been comforted by his embrace? Despite everything, she was incredibly lucky. "How is Papa?" She hadn't wanted to ask her mother, the look of heartbreak in her eyes would have been too much to bear.

"No better, I'm afraid," was Edwin's pained reply. How he wished he could take all her worries away! But as such a thing was not within his power, he had to settle for being there to comfort and support her.

"Well, I hadn't really expected he would be," Riri said with a sad smile that tugged at Edwin's heartstrings until he felt they were ready to snap.

"Riri, if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all," he said with an intensity of emotion that almost frighted her.

A blush lit her cheeks. "My hand... You're holding it too tight." She hadn't noticed before the ethereal, shifting quality of the color of his eyes. They were like the sea, stormy or radiant depending on the light, and Riri felt very distinctly she could become lost in them if she wasn't careful.

Not one of her friends noticed the sudden change that for a moment had overcome Riri. Not Chiemi, who had finished her dance and was now chatting with Acacia, or Aiko, who, to judge by her laughter, was having a wonderful time dancing with Will, nor even Serenity, who was just then trying to convince herself that the very strange dance she had just had with William was no different from the friendly one he was now having with Aiko.

Riri felt a mix of relief and bitter disappointment when the song ended and she was able to mumble a thank you and make her hasty retreat. She slipped off the dance floor and hid with her back pressed against the cool marble of one the hall's great pillars, feeling very small and wondering what was wrong with her.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

There are so many things that I like and dislike about this chapter! Luckily they mostly fall on the like side. I'm sorry if the beginning was too expositiony, I don't like it, but often times that type of thing is needed at the beginning of stories. Now, on to some of the things I do like. Aiko continues to be a joy to write. She makes me laugh and I love all of her interactions with Acacia. I'm pretty sure that's what 90% of their conversations are like. Aiko says something silly and frivolous, Acacia ignores her. Acacia teases Aiko or says her opinion in such a blunt way that Aiko is tragically wounded! For about five minutes. Aiko teases Acacia and Acacia sulks and glowers. Acacia sighs at Aiko's antics and wonders if she'll ever grow up. They are complete opposites who drive one another crazy and love each other dearly and they make a great odd couple.

I also love the whole conversation between William and Lady Alicia. It's so deliciously wrong, but William is so innocent you just want to pat his head like the eager little puppy he is. He's adorable and I love him. Another conversation I like is the one that takes place at the end of the chapter between Riri and Edwin. I'm sorry if I'm making that one way too obvious, but I have a soft spot for that type of relationship. Fortunately, not everything will be that obvious. I'm pretty sure that it will take you awhile to figure out just who Aiko is going to get together with, partially because I'm not 100% sure myself! Haha! I have pretty good idea though, so look forward to it. Anyway, I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter. It's the longest one so far and, in my opinion, the best.

I'd love to hear your take on it!

General Info: Mare Serenitatis is a fanfic about Queen Serenity (Princess Serenity/Usagi's mother during the Silver Millenium) when she was still a young girl. Yes, back when Queen Serenity was still Princess Serenity and the Silver Millenium did not yet exist. This is a story of the 17-year-old princess of the Moon and her four senshi, Aiko, Princess of Venus (the current Sailor Venus), Acacia Thrush (the current Sailor Jupiter), Prudence Chiemi Kasei (the current Sailor Mars), and Liana Liara la Mercury, or Riri (the current Sailor Mercury.) Though this story I seek to entertain, as well as explain some of the things left out of the manga, like why things were so bad between the Earth and the Moon during the Silver Millenium and what the relationship between Queen Serenity and Nehellenia was. I hope you enjoy the story and that you will come to like some of the original characters found within and start to care about their fates.

Credit: Mare Serenitatis is based on a now dead RPG of the same name. The RP was started by a girl named Mikomi and the original concept belongs to her. Queen Serenity, Nehellenia, and the Sailor Moon universe, of course, belong to Naoko Takeuchi. Acacia Thrush belongs to my good friend Chmia, who was in the original RP with me and nice enough to allow me to put her into my fanfiction. :3 All the other characters belong to me.


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